Growing Up
by Hydros
Summary: A year after "Vacation" has passed. All is calm, or at least until a series of bank robberies occur. As a new, more violent team of heroes passes into town to take on equally new violent villains, the Titans must come to terms with right and wrong.
1. New Kids On The Block

-1It had been a rough day for the Titans. Training had gone well, but three different bank robbery attempts really takes a lot out of a band of adolescent heroes. So it was a blessing to the teens when the last call was handled and they were able to take a load off for the night. Well, most of them did, anyway. Robin was at the main computer of Titan's Tower trying to figure any sort of pattern to the crimes, sure that they were somehow connected and kept growling and shaking his head every now and again. Finally, he pounded the console with his fist, startling everyone else who had been relaxing on the sofa watching TV.

"I don't get it! The robberies aren't coordinated in any way that I can see. Completely different locations throughout Jump, spaced out in different times, different guys every time!" He sighed and rubbed his forehead. He turned away from the computer for a moment and directed his speech at his friends. "I don't suppose any of you noticed any constants?" When everyone shook their heads, he sighed.

"Robin, maybe we just had a busy day. Maybe the crimes aren't related at all and you're just looking too hard for something that isn't there?" Terra suggested. A murmur of agreement ran through the others and Robin sighed again.

"It's entirely possible, I guess. I just find it hard to believe that we've had such a long period of calm and all of a sudden we have a crapload of crimes bust out in one day is all," He explained. He looked thoughtful for a moment, scratched his head and shrugged. "Then again, maybe I just need some sleep. I think we all could. I know I'm tossing in for tonight. You guys probably should here pretty soon," He added over the hissing of the common room door opening as he headed for his room.

"Leave it to Robin to look way too deep into a couple of bank robberies," Beast Boy said with a slight laugh. Raven smiled, silently agreeing with her boyfriend. Starfire frowned briefly, torn between amusement at Beast Boy's comment and Robin's annoying habits.

"Alright, I'm heading for the charger y'all. Goodnight," Cyborg said with a yawn as he stretched out and stood up. The others followed, saying their various goodnights. As she went to her room, Raven was somewhat troubled. She had felt as though someone had been…_watching_ them during their battles with the robbers from the banks. Every time she had searched for the source and every time she failed to find one. With a final sigh she curled up into her covers and went to sleep on one final thought: Who would want to watch the Titans fight?

"DAMNIT!" The next morning had greeted them with a hold-up in the one bank that hadn't been hit during yesterday's little crime spree, and Robin was not happy about it. "Well Titans, hope you got a good night's rest. Let's go," He said, throwing his hands in the air and motioning for the door. Everyone shook their heads, suited up and began the flight across town.

"There!" Raven said as they descended upon the bank. The bank was being held up by, from what the Titans could tell, at least twenty masked men from the inside. "Great. Just great. Twenty freaks that we can see, probably more we can't and plenty of hostages for human shielding. Fucking peachy," Raven muttered. Then she felt it again. The feeling of eyes upon her. She took a quick look around, saw nothing again, and shook her head. "We'll get in through here. Grab hands," She instructed, pointing to the rear of the building.

Five minutes later, Raven had phased them through the wall leading into the mid-security vaults. And led them right into another gang of robbers. "Whoa… We're screwed if we don't think of something," Terra said as she looked at their opposition. Each of the masked figures were toting rifles except for a small group that were wielding butterfly knives and swords. "Rush 'em?" The geomancer asked?

"I say defense," Raven said.

"We've got more offensive power than defensive without ripping up the entire foundation. Rush 'em it is," Robin decided. He extended a staff and ran at the robbers, knocked some of their guns to the ground, and began to lay into the men with the weapon. Which would have been a fine strategy, had they been dealing with their usual scumbag criminals.

But the Titans soon found that their enemies had just as much skill in handling their weapons and hand to hand fighting as they did, if not more. But that wasn't their biggest disadvantage. No, that came from their sudden inability to use the powers they relied on so heavily. Beast Boy couldn't morph, Starfire was being reduced to average human strength and Raven's telekinesis was failing her. Soon, Robin found himself at gunpoint and Beast Boy had been knocked unconscious.

"Move and both of them die!" The Titans froze as one of the men aimed at Beast Boy's unconscious form. "On second thought, both of them die anyway," The gunman said with a hint of a laugh in his voice. Raven saw the finger tighten on the trigger and desperately tried again to telekinetically knock the gun loose. No use. Raven started to turn her head when she heard a sound that didn't quite belong. Something that sounded oddly like a gasp coming from the back of the room.

All heads turned to the source of the sound. One of the masked men was standing there, his face a picture of pain and horror. The reason was obvious; there was a blade sticking straight through his chest. The blade was quickly jerked back, and as he fell to the side the Titans heard words spoken in a childish voice that just didn't match: "Alright, assholes, playtime's over."


	2. Lethal Indecision

-1"What the…?" Robin trailed off at the sight in front of him. Two people had just dropped down from a newly-made hole from what Robin could only assume was the first floor. The one with the staff looked like the child of Robin and Raven, with the Boy Wonder's eyemask/cape/weapons belt ensemble that read HG on the front and Raven's purple hair. But that wasn't why Robin was so shocked. The reason for his surprise was simple: The girl couldn't have been more than 13 years old. Yet while he stared she whipped out a pistol and fired three shots, taking out the man threatening Beast Boy and two others trying to ambush Raven and Terra.

The other figure looked to be a more reasonable age, maybe 17 or 18. However, that was where all reason stopped. He was wearing an obviously self-created costume consisting of what Robin could only figure out to be a scuba suit with some yellow gloves and boots. He was holding two lead pipes in his hands and looked ready to take on any comers. The strange pair looked at each other, looked to the Titans and back to each other with a smirk on their faces.

"Alright ya fucks, let's see whatcha got!" HG girl yelled as she leapt into the air. All of the Titans watched as the new pair quickly and brutally dispatched the entire group of attackers with knives, a bladed staff, guns and several lead pipes to the head. "Oh, son of a bitch," HG girl muttered as she put her pistols back.

"What?" Her partner asked as he joined her, putting his pipes away.

"I got blood on my fucking dress, that's what. Man, that's gonna take a few washes to get out," She replied, as if nothing special had just occurred. After a moment, she realized that the Titans were all staring. "What the hell're you staring at? Take a picture," She said.

"Uhm… You just killed like twenty guys by stabbing and shooting them," Robin responded.

"And?"

"And you're a little girl-" HG's eyes flashed and in an instant Robin knew he'd said the wrong thing. HG spun on her heel, kicked Robin to the ground and whipped her blade-staff out, resting it on his neck.

"NEVER call me 'little girl'. Consider that a lucky warning," She told him as she took the blade away from him. Robin sprang to his feet, now caught between anger, awe and just plain confusion.

"Okay, sorry. Alright, let's try this again. You just killed a bunch of guys and saved our asses. Thanks, but who the hell ARE you?" Robin asked. The girl looked at him for a second as though judging him before responding.

"I'm Hitgirl. And that's Kick-Ass," She pointed at her partner. He waved. "And you," She added before Robin could open his mouth, "are the Teen Titans. Don't worry, we're on the same side," added, noting the Titans' wary stares. Then, with a raised eyebrow she bent down and plucked something off of one of the dead men's coat. "Hey Kick-Ass, you're the computer geek. What the hell is this thing?" She asked, holding out a small metal stud. He frowned momentarily as he took it from her.

"Looks like some sort of disruption emitter. I've seen them before, actually used them a couple times in science class to cancel out certain energies emitted by the chemicals we were working with," He said.

"An energy disruptor? Hold on. Can you tell what kind of energy it's canceling?" Raven asked. Hit-Girl smirked.

"No need. It's pretty obvious what's going on here. These little things are holding back the power generated by the black-sheep gene in each of you that give you your powers. I'd have to guess that they're programmed to block anything not found in the average human," She finished.

"Oh. So that's why our powers weren't working? Those little things?" Beast Boy asked incredulously. Hit-Girl and Kick-Ass nodded. "Damn. And it looks like he wasn't the only one carrying one," The changeling added. Indeed, every dead man had a disruptor somewhere on their person.

"Well. It looks like you're going to need some help on this one. Well, more than what we just gave you," Hit-Girl told them. She paused for a second, then rummaged around in her belt. "Here," She said, handing each of them a small handgun. The Titans simply stared at the weapons in their hand. "What the hell are you looking at? Never seen a gun before? Come on, we have people to save, remember?" The kid hero snapped.

"You aren't… We can't just go in there and kill these guys!" Robin said. Both of the new heroes gave him a strange look.

"What? What the hell else do you think we should do, tie them up for the cops? I don't think so," Hit-Girl said impatiently. She waited a moment, then shook her head. "Fine, suit yourselves. Kick-Ass and I are going to go try to clear this place out. If you want to help, be ready to kill. Otherwise, stay out of the way," She finished bluntly.

"Hey! This is our city! You can't just-" Too late. Robin's words fell on absent ears. "Fuck! Damnit…" The leader looked around from one Titan to the next. "Alright, I'm bringing this to a vote. Help them or not?" He asked.

"We've never taken lethal actions against our enemies before. Still… These guys are a whole different class of criminals from what we've seen, Robin," Raven took a moment as her words sank in. Finally, she bowed her head. "I think it's time we stepped ourselves up as well," She finished.

"Hell with that! I'm not gonna start killing people just because a punk and his little purple-haired freak child bust in and start doin' it!" Cyborg said, throwing the gun in his hand into the wall.

"I think Raven's right. We gotta evolve with the crime, Rob," Beast Boy said.

"I'm with Cyborg. No way," Terra told Robin. He sighed.

"Two for, two against. Starfire?" No answer. "Star…fire…?" It was then that he realized that his girlfriend was not present. "She already… Shit. Down to me? Fine. I see both sides, and all of you have good points. But right now, there are people up there in trouble. As Titans, we swore to protect the city no matter what. No matter what," He repeated with finality. "Everyone in favor, come with me," He called over his shoulder as he ran to the stairs. Terra and Cyborg just stared as the others disappeared.

"No…" Terra whispered.


	3. The Ultimatum

-1"Hit-Girl?" Starfire and Hit-Girl were both crouched behind the front desk of the bank. A massive firefight had started, and while Kick-Ass and Robin were helping to escort hostages to safety Hit-Girl, Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy were returning fire.

"Yeah?" She replied.

"How in the world do you work one of these?" Starfire had managed to take an AK-47 from one of the robbers. Hit-Girl smiled and took the weapon for a moment as she cocked and re-loaded it.

"There. Hold it like this," Hit-Girl instructed as she placed Starfire's hands on the gun. Then she sighed. "Actually, on second thought, let me show you a trick," She said. Taking the gun from the alien, she proceeded to hold just the gun up above the counter and began to blindly fire. Hearing several cries of pain, she smirked in satisfaction. "Here," She said as she gave the weapon back to Starfire.

"Ah. This is not dissimilar to the _sorbant_," Starfire said as she looked down to her hands.

"The what?"

"Nevermind," The alien replied. With that, she rolled out from behind the desk and, with the skill that could only come from years of using such a weapon began to fire critically-aimed shots. Hit-Girl watched in curiosity as Starfire's targets began to fall, either dead or disabled.

"Damn. Well, my turn," Hit-Girl said to herself. Flipping over the desk with her staff in hand, she began to cut through the men with ease.

"Okay, fuck this," Robin muttered. He was tired of dodging bullets, and there had just been too many near misses. He took out several freeze discs and wound up to throw them.

"What the hell are those?" Kick-Ass asked him?

"Watch and learn," Robin said with a smirk. Leaping in the air, he let fly with the weapons, launching them every which way. As they hit the ground, the discs exploded and covered the floor with ice.

"Holy shiiiiitttt!" Hit-Girl yelled as she began to do a mad slip-and-slide dance. And it wasn't just her; all of them, both good and bad were slipping, sliding and falling all over the place. When she finally regained her footing, she quickly realized that she had been the first to do so. "Cool little gadget, Boy Wonder!" She called across the room. With that, she began to use the ice to skate around the room, the momentum putting a bigger punch behind her blades than before.

"Thanks!" Robin called back. Shots whizzed through the air and through people's heads, and soon enough the lobby was cleared.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Holy shit!" Terra cried as she emerged from the elevator. The only people that were alive were her friends and the new duo. She barely kept her footing across the ice as she made her way towards Robin, Cyborg hot on her tail.

"What the hell happened?!" Cyborg asked as he looked around. Blood and lead were strewn everywhere. "And why the FUCK is Starfire holding that thing?!" He yelped as he saw the weapon in his friend's hands. "You just let this happen, huh Robin? Flat out murder of what, twenty guys? What the fuck, man?" He yelled, towering over the Boy Wonder.

"It was defense, you dumb fuck," Hit-Girl replied as she slung her bloodied staff across her back. Starfire seemed to agree with the pint-sized powerhouse, and the other weapon-wielding Titans had looks of shame on their faces.

"She is right, Cyborg. We were able to stop the criminals we used to fight because we fought their superpowers with our own. Now our city is plagued by a new group of criminals and we must continue to match them, even if it means turning to combating their lethal fighting style with our own," Starfire said solemnly. Everyone stared; it wasn't often that Starfire's hardened warrior princess personality showed through, but when it did it was always extreme.

"Finally, someone talking some sense around here," Hit-Girl commented. "Look, if you're too squeamish to draw blood or, God forbid, kill someone, I suggest that you find another town to save. We're coming all the way from fuckin' New York to track down an…well, we'll just say enemy and leave it at that. He's the one sending all of these dudes out to rob your banks and shit, and he's the one bringing the 'new wave' of crime."

"Fine. It's your bad guy, our city. We can help you-" Robin was cut short by Kick-Ass.

"No. Unless you're ready to play by our rules, you'll be a liability. Simple as that. If you're not ready for the big leagues, just stay out of the way," The masked hero told them.

"And what'll you do if we don't?" Cyborg challenged.

"Let's just say that you're either with us or against us," Hit-Girl answered. "Having said that, where do you stand?" She asked.

"Really? You're gonna threaten us in our own city? We can do this anywhere, any time girl," Cyborg growled.

"No shit. Bring it," Terra agreed.

"Gotta go with them on this. You don't just come barging in here and tell us to back off without paying the price," Raven said.

"Nevermind, she said what I was gonna say," Beast Boy added. Then a voice sounded out.

"I, for one, am with you."

If they hadn't seen her lips move or seen her walk to stand beside the two new kids, the Titans would not have believed that Starfire had just said what she did. Every Titan stared in disbelief.

"You… you're agreeing with them?" Robin asked. He was trying to remain calm, but inside he was in full panic mode. He loved Kori, and would do anything for her. But he agreed entirely with the rest of his team. What was he supposed to do?

"Yes, Richard. We Titans took a vow to do and give anything and everything for our city. If that means letting go to perfect morality in favor of enabling us to fight, I will do so as I have before on Tamaran," She said firmly.

"So. This is how it's gonna work, huh? You guys would rather lose a member of your team than let go of the ideal heroism attitude?" Hit-Girl shook her head. "Nice. Alright, fine. Starfire, if you want to help you can stay with us. We've got the tools that Titans Tower doesn't to get this place cleaned up," She said.

"My apologies, friends, but if you are unwilling to do what needs to be done I cannot continue to fight alongside you," The princess said. With that, the new threesome exited the bank without another word, climbing into a red car and speeding off leaving the Titans gaping.


End file.
